Race takes shape for C-PP school board

Four candidates will be vying for three open seats on the Corning-Painted Post school board in this month’s election.

The candidates are seeking three-year terms which begin July and end June 30, 2016. The deadline to submit nominating petitions was Wednesday.

Two incumbents, Nancy Arkin and Barry Nicholson, are running again. They will be challenged by Mary Franklin and Kristina Belanger. The third incumbent, Patrick Flynn, will be stepping down after serving three terms.

Arkin, the current board vice president, will be seeking a third term. She says she’s proud of what the board has accomplished in her first two terms and is determined to see C-PP’s $97.7 million facilities project to completion.

Nicholson has been on the board for seven years. He served two full-terms, plus a one-year terms to fill a vacant seat. He owns four local businesses, including three on Corning’s Market Street. He has two children in the C-PP district.

Franklin is a former teacher in the district. She taught special education at East High for many years, retiring in 2011.

Belanger has lived in the area for 12 years, and has run for school board twice in the past. She has two children in the district, one at Northside Blodgett Middle School and another at Calvin U. Smith Elementary, and says she’d be “a voice on the board for the average family.”

The school board elections will be held May 21, the same day as C-PP’s proposed $92 million budget for the 2013-14 school year. The budget contains a tax levy hike of 3.62 percent, the maximum C-PP is allowed under the state cap.

A presentation and public hearing on the budget will be held at 6:30 p.m. May 14 at the Administration Building, 165 Charles St., Painted Post.

Also, C-PP will hold a voter registration day from noon-8 p.m. on Tuesday at the Administration Building, 165 Charles St., Painted Post. To register, a person must be 18 years old, a U.S. citizen and have established residency in the school district by April 21.

Voter registration forms can also be picked up at other times by calling District Clerk Karen Dutcher at 936-3704, Ext. 1001.

Those already registered with the Steuben County Board of Elections don’t need to register with the district.